Archive of Our Own

The bright lights and distorted sizing of everything around them was honestly fascinating to Voxer. The fae gates were truly everything they were spoken to be and more. Voxer would have been all too happy to study this place and take notes if it weren't for one not so small detail.

“So what brings you boys to this side of the realm anyway. Most people don't just wander into a place they can barely comprehend on accident.” A large Polil (aren't they suppose to be small?) that called himself Oleander fluttered around as the two made their way through the space.

Ochi just smiled as the two walked. “We certainly did not plan to wind up here ourselves. But if this can get us to our destination quicker that's all the better for us. And the sooner we leave the sooner we'll be out of your hair.”

“Oh don't you fret boys, it's honestly been kind of lonely here lately, it's quite nice to have abit of company admittedly, you two aren't a bother At Alllll.” He said cheerfully.

“Yeah well you sure are a bother to me.” Voxer muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Oleander asked darting closer to hear, causing Voxer to flinch back.

Ochi just smiled widely and waved him off. “Don't mind my friend, he tends to mutter nonsense to himself when he's deep in thought. Now if you could just lead us to those gates you mentioned before, that would be Lovely.”

“Oh yes of course! They're just up these steps, follow Meeeee!” He cheered.

Ochi lingered back abit before turning to look at Voxer with the angriest smile he's ever seen. “Don't tick off the magical fae creature while we're in the fae realm, Voxer.” He said through clenched teeth.

Voxer just folded his arms behind his head and looked away. “Yeah yeah whatever, let's just go.”

As they ascended the steps and walked into the building, they were met with three large glowing portals that Oleander excitedly gestured to. “Here we are! Your one way ticket out of the fae realm and back to your world!”

Ochi smiled and folded his hands. “Thank you very much Mr-”

“Oh please, mister this, sir that, we're all friends here, just call me Oleander!” The still too big fairy happily insisted.

“Right, yes, of course. Now then, Oleander, I appreciate you bringing us here, but I can't help but notice that there is more than one option for us to pick.”

Oleander dramatically turned around with a gasp as if this information wasn't already obvious to him, and Voxer swore he could feel his teeth crack with how tight his jaw was. “Oh my goodness, you're right! I didn't even realize!”

“That's quite alright. If you could just tell us which one is best to go through, that would be a great help, and you've already been so helpful so far.” Ochi said with a wide smile.

“Oh well it depends on what exactly you're looking for I suppose. I'm sure if we talk enough I could find a perfect fit for where you need to-”

“Which one will get us to Lurlen Village the quickest?” Voxer cut in sharply, wanting to get out of this situation sooner rather than later.

Oleander gave a smug grin at that before turning to face them with an innocent smile. “Oh, Lurlen Village! You boys are in luck!” He started before flying over the middle portal. “If speed is what you're looking for, then this portal right here will get you there in just a few minutes flat.” He declared confidently.

“Great, we'll take that one then.” Voxer said before grabbing Ochi's wrist and dragging him towards the portal.

Ochi flinched at that ever so rash decision and tried to pull back, giving a faintly forced smile. “Now Voxer, don't you think we should at least ask for some details about what the area is like before just blindly walking into a portal with little information.”

“He already told us it's just a few minutes outside the village we're trying to get to. What, are you worried there's going to be an active volcano right outside the front gate or something?” Voxer asked sarcastically.

“Well no but I still-”

“Awwww, you don't even wanna ask me what might be on the other side of the portal?” Oleander whined in an obnoxiously high voice as he stuck his lower lip out in a mock pout.

Voxer grit his teeth. “No, we don't.” He said before switching to push Ochi through the portal and then being pulled through a moment later himself.

“Have a nice trip boys! See you next Faaaaall!”

Voxer had time to register those words, but not what they were implying before being blinded by a bright light as they seemed to be pulled through the very fabric of space itself. As unpleasant as it was, it only lasted but a few seconds. As he came to, the first thing he registered was the wind blowing around him, except it wasn't just wind, falling, he was falling. Whether it was instinct or just quick reaction time, Voxer managed to quickly orientate himself with a shift of his weight and a flap of his wings. It only took him a second longer to realize the bigger problem with this, Ochi, he had pushed Ochi through the portal… Crap Ochi! In a panic he scanned the vast sky below him and thank the Gods his preference of dark clothing made him easier to spot against the clouds. Without a second thought Voxer darted down sharply, he hadn't had to catch anyone while flying in awhile so this was going to be tricky, but he had to act quick.

It was hard to aim between the flailing and the turning but somehow Voxer managed to get a hold on Ochi's leg and pulled back, there was a jolt in his arm that was probably going to hurt tomorrow as he fought against gravity to slow their falls. Finally after a moment things managed to slow down and Voxer took a moment to properly survey the scene. Oh… this wasn't good. They were high, they had fallen a good distance already but they were still high high, above the clouds high.

After a moment of realizing he wasn't falling anymore, and he was in fact, not dead, Ochi eyes fluttered open. Which wasn't the best thing to do when you're dangling upside-down by your ankle high above the clouds. Panic took over as he struggled to pull himself into a better position. “Vox- Voxer!” Was it an angry yell? A panicked plea for help? Perhaps something in-between.

“Don't struggle or I'm gonna drop you.” He said through clenched teeth. Voxer meant that more as a warning than a threat, but clearly Ochi took it the other way around.

“DON'T You Dare! Or I swear I'll-” He stopped his own threat when a harsh wind hit them.

“I didn't mean- I… just- Hold…” Voxer grit his teeth as he tried to pull him up. “Still!” He said before getting ahold of Ochi's shirt. Voxer grunted as he went to pull him up and finally Ochi was able to grab onto him and help. Voxer managed to hook one arm under Ochi's legs and pull him closer to his chest with the other in what was effectively a bridal carry. In this position, Voxer could feel how bad he was shaking as Ochi hid his face in his shoulder.

Finally, they could stop and calm down for a second at least. Voxer took deep breaths to steady his pounding heart before fully scanning their surroundings again. His wings beat against the air in slow, steady flaps, slow enough to lower their altitude bit by bit, but enough to keep them from going back into a free fall. But with how high up they were, Voxer was realizing they weren't going to be able to keep doing that to get them down. Which meant he was going to have to do something he knew Ochi wouldn't like. “Ochi, Ochi, I need you to put your arm around my shoulder.” He said firmly.

“Wha- what? Why?” Ochi sounded out of breath. It was unusual to see the ever so put together priest this shaken up, if it weren't for the circumstances, Voxer might have teased him for it, but this was not the time.

“You're gonna have to if I want to glide to get us down.” Voxer told him matter-o-factly.

“Glide!?” Ochi snapped, sounding panicked. “Can't you just- do what you're doing Now to get us down?” He asked.

“Not from this high up, I'm pretty sure I'd run out of stamina doing that even by myself, so I'm definitely not going to be able to do it while carrying you. And if I run out of stamina, we both fall. In order to slowly drift down like you want, I'd have to fully flap my wings every few seconds, otherwise we'll start falling again. It's the kind of technique you use when you're a few feet off the ground, not a few miles.” He tried appealing to Ochi's sense of logic, but Ochi didn't answer. Voxer sighed. “Ochi if there was any other way you know I'd do it, but this is the only way to get down safely. I know what I'm doing, I'm not going to drop you.”

He didn't answer for a moment, but after feeling him take a few deep breaths Voxer felt him nod. “Okay… okay.” Ochi's death grip on his arm loosened abit before snapping open and in a slightly quicker motion than Voxer would have liked, slung his arm around Voxer's shoulder.

Voxer had to orientate himself again with the jerky movement but quickly recovered, he chose not to reprimand Ochi for the quick movements, he needed Ochi calm. “I'm going to dip left, it's going to feel like we're falling for a second, but then we're gonna slow down. I need you to not freak out when you feel your weight shift, cause it's going to. As long as you keep your arm around my shoulder, you'll be fine.” He hoped explaining exactly what would happen would lessen the chances of Ochi panicking, both for their safety and just to ease his worries.

“Yes yes I understand, now just get on with it already.” Voxer chose to believe the return of his temper was a good thing before folding his left wing in and… woosh- Ochi gave a slightly startled yelp when Voxer had to adjust his grip mid turn.

"I gotcha, I gotcha." Voxer attempted to calm him before diving down. Whether Ochi actually heard him or not was uncertain, but he at least managed to restrict his panic to just little noises and only the smallest of movements before tightening his grip around Voxer's shoulder. For a moment they fell as Voxer got himself into position before fully letting his wings extend out to slow their descent. After he got into a proper gliding form he let out a breath. “Hard parts over, we'll be down in a few minutes or so.” He called out above the wind blowing in his ear, though Ochi did not answer.

As they descended Voxer got sight of the village they were trying to get to. As it turned out, Oleander in fact did not lie about the portal taking them a few minutes away, problem was it was a few minutes flight, not a few minutes walk. Voxer pulled up much sooner than he would have normally and shifted his gaze to look at Ochi as they drifted down. Ochi had his eyes screwed shut, his muscles tense and rigid. Voxer gave the faintest of smiles, in part from relief, but also just ever so slightly amused at how shaken up he was now that the actual danger was gone. With one more big flap of his wings, Voxer fully slowed himself before his feet hit the ground below them. He let out a sigh of relief then glanced back at Ochi. “Okay you can open your eyes now, we're on the ground.”

Ochi cracked open an eye before Voxer felt him let out a long exhale and relax slightly. Voxer dropped his legs and let Ochi's feet hit the ground. He was still shaking as he did so, keeping his arm around Voxer's shoulder a moment longer. Voxer let him as Ochi slowly adjusted to the fact that he was safe again. After a few shaky breaths Ochi released his grip and stepped back, leaning forward as he tried to catch his breath. Voxer watched him a moment before leaning to the side abit. “You alright?”

At first Ochi did not give a verbal answer, just breathing heavy as he was doubled over. "I feel like I'm going to be sick." He griped between breaths.

"Oh come on, aside from the beginning, that was probably my smoothest flight in awhile." Voxer immediately regretted that the moment he said it.

Ochi's head snapped up with a glare that could scare off monsters before standing upright and marching over to Voxer. "Need I remind you that You are the reason we even wound up in that situation to begin with." He said while poking Voxer's chest. "I would appreciate if you not criticize me for reacting badly to something that was objectively your fault!" He snapped.

"I thought it was safe!" Voxer argued back. "I didn't think it'd-" He sighed and trailed off.

"Yes that's precisely the problem Voxer, you just didn't Think!" Ochi said sharply before turning around and walking away. After he walked a few paces he stopped and sighed, rubbing the back of his head. As he did so however his hand slowed before frantically rubbing back and forth a few times only to then stop as his hand tensed, he turned to glare at Voxer again. "You, are buying me a new hat." He declared.

What? Ah… Ochi's hat had flown off during the whole debacle and was now lost to the winds. Voxer folded his arms as he looked at him. “Really, that's what you're worried about right now?”

“I'll have you know I'm worried about a great number of things right now. Not least of which being my skyrocketing heart rate. This is at least something you can fix however. But, we'll sort that out another time. For now I say it's best we just start our work.” Ochi straightened his clothes and hair before starting to make his way down to the village.

Voxer perked up abit at that as he moved to keep up with him. “You sure you wanna go right now? We're here alot sooner than we expected to be. If you need a break, it's not a big deal.”

Ochi slowed abit but did not turn to face him, his shoulders slumping slightly. “What I Need right now is to get my mind off of what just happened, and looking around the village is as good of a method as any.” He said before walking again.

Fair enough, Voxer thought to himself before moving to match his stride as the two made their way down to the village. As they made their way down Voxer considered maybe he'd actually try asking the questions for once, but as usual Ochi was quick to take point in conversations with his usual polite and friendly demeanor. Granted he was sometimes alittle slower to respond and just a hair more tense than he usually appeared, but those weren't the kind of things anyone would notice, say for Voxer of course. And eventually, even those little anomalies would fade out given enough time.

-

“I can't believe I'm actually doing this.” Voxer muttered to himself as he looked through the selection of hats at the local tailor here in the town. It was their last night here before heading back home, and almost every day Ochi had made a point to make some passing remark about how Voxer still needed to get him a new hat. While his mood did improve as the days went on, this particular detail was something he would not waver in. So now here was Voxer, in a small dusty shop, sorting through various hats to try and find something that would meet Ochi's standards and sense of style. Until something caught his eye and got him to stop.

On a mannequin head at the back of the shop, sat a black brimmed hat with white trimming. Voxer, honestly couldn't believe it for a second, did this little run down shop actually have the exact kind of hat that Ochi had got from some ungodly expensive place? But after a moment of inspecting it Voxer came to realize it wasn't just the same style of hat, it was in fact, the very same hat. The thing that tipped it off the most was a little imperfection in the brim that specifically was caused by Engel snatching it off his head one time with his beak. “How the hell did this wind up here?” He asked while looking puzzled.

The question had been more asked to himself, but nonetheless the shopkeep heard his quandary and piped up with a laugh. “Heee-hehehe, oh that Lil thing? Some lass found it just lying around outside the town and brought it in.” Voxer turned around to find an older, smiley man with worn and tattered clothes despite owning a clothing store. He stepped forward, leaning on a cane for support. “I must say, it's certainly better quality than what we usually get around these parts, I can tell ya that much. Recon some rich folk must-a lost it on their way in if I had to guess.”

Voxer rubbed the back of his head. “Uh yeah actually, it belongs to a friend of mine, we lost it on our way into town, and he's kinda upset about it.” Voxer told him, omitting the fact that he was the reason it was lost.

“Well, I certainly believe it belongs to a friend of yours, because it most definitely does not belong to you!” The man laughed again.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Voxer asked with a scowl, half expecting a comment about it being too out of his price range.

The man just smiled and leaned forward on his cane. “Laddy, I don't think yee'd be able to wear a hat even if ya wanted to with a hair style like that.” He explained before falling into another high pitched wheezy laugh.

Ah… right. Voxer took a deep breath to calm himself down then looked back at the shopkeeper. “Okay fine, look, can I just get this then?” He asked.

“Hehe well of course lad, if ya pay the price.”

“Wha- I just told you this belongs to my friend!” He snapped.

“And I believe ya, based on how you looked when you found it.” The man said as he began to walk to the front of the shop. “But that does not change the fact that I spent my money to put that hat in my shop. And based on the fact that you are the one here looking for hats and not your friend, I've got the sneaking suspicion that you are the reason it went missing. So you're probably really looking to get it back.” Voxer froze up and the man laughed again. “Come on then laddy.” He said before stepping behind the counter.

After a moment Voxer sighed and followed him. “Fine, how much did you pay for it?”

“250 shillings.” He answered swiftly. Voxer felt his stomach drop, that was basically all the money he had left for the trip, and that was just what the man payed for it. The Shopkeeper looked at him a moment then chuckled. “I'll take 150.”

Voxer was stunned a moment then shook his head. “You just said-”

“I know what I said.” The shopkeeper started. “But… lad, you are a grumpy, antisocial, short fused young man who clearly does not want to be here. And yet here you are bartering with a kookie old man over a hat that you don't even plan to wear. Now, either that hat is the Single most powerful thing in this Universe, orrrr, you're trying to make amends with your friend.” He said with a grin. “Now if it's the former, I'ma be honest with ya, I don't think I want that thing in my shop, I'm abit too old to be dragged into a hero's journey, don't ya think?” He laughed with a wink. “And if it's the latter, well, who am I to stand in your way.” He said before turning around to get a box behind him. “I'll survive being abit short this month boy, don't you worry.”

Voxer looked at the old man, then down at the hat. Without a word there was a thump of something being slammed on the counter and a door opening. The man turned around. Voxer and the hat were gone, and a stack of money sat on the counter. When he counted it, 250. The old man laughed quietly. “Hehehe, good lad, good lad indeed.”

-

“I'm back.” Voxer called out from the entry way as the door closed behind him.

“Did you get me a new hat this time?” Ochi asked without even looking up from his book.

Voxer stared at him a moment before walking over. “No, I did not get you a new hat.” He started, being vague on purpose. Ochi jolted forward and was clearly about to say something, but was cut off when something was abruptly thrown at his face. “I got you your old one back.” He clarified.

Ochi took a moment to recover from having something thrown at him before he registered what had been said and what was now in his hand. A familiar black cap that was worn and faded in the exact same spots as his. He stared blankly for a moment before blinking and looking up. “How- did you even manage… did you go back to- No it wouldn't still-” He wasn't even sure what to ask at this point.

Despite that, Voxer still gave an answer as he fell back onto his bed and folded his arms behind his head. “I went to a shop here in town that buys and sells clothes to find you a new hat and low and behold I found it in there. Apparently someone must have found it and figured it was worth a pretty penny, so they sold it to the local tailor here in town.”

“Well… that's lucky I suppose then.” Ochi looked down at the hat a moment longer, his eyes focusing in contemplation as he did so. “Voxer, how much did you spend to get this back?”

“Probably less than you spent to get it in the first place.” He answered dryly.

“Not what I asked.” Ochi shot back. “How, much?” He pressed.

Voxer hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath. “Oh just… almost the rest of my money.” He answered truthfully.

“Voxer!” Ochi abruptly stood up from where he was.

“What?! You wanted me to replace your hat! What were you expecting from me?!” Voxer snapped back.

“I expected you to buy a cheap cap that vaguely reflected my style at best. I most certainly did not expect you to spend all your-” Ochi stopped mid sentence and breathed in a sharp breath before rubbing his face, pushing his glasses up in the process.

Voxer glanced at him a moment then closed his eyes. “I don't know what you're so worried about, we're headed back tomorrow anyway.”

“Yes but we're still staying- I am buying you dinner tonight, this is not a debate.” He said firmly while pointing at his winged friend.

“Geez, twist my arm why don't you.” Voxer droned out.

Ochi stayed silent at that before looking down at the hat once more. His gaze shifted back to Voxer who hadn't moved from the bed. “Thank you.” He finally said after a moment.

Voxer didn't reply at first but just opened his eyes slightly and shifted abit on the bed. “You don't need to thank me, I'm the one that got us into that situation to begin with and put you in danger.”

Ochi was quiet a moment as he looked at him. “You do recall that you were also the one who saved me, right?” He asked.

“What was the alternative?”

“Let me die?”

“Like Hell!” Voxer nearly snarled.

Ochi let out a breath and smiled faintly. “The point is, you did still put yourself in danger to help me. If I had been more panicked, struggled more, there's a real possibility I could have gotten us both killed. And I think you knew that.”

“Then I would have deserved it.” Voxer said coldly. “There was no other option in my mind, either I save you, or we both die.”

Ochi's face scrunched up abit at that. “Voxer I don't think you-”

“You said so yourself, what happened was objectively my fault.” He cut him off.

Ochi winced and breathed in a sharp breath. “Voxer, I said that while I was high on adrenaline and panic and-” He sighed and rubbed his head. “I'm not going to act like you aren't at fault. But I don't want you to keep punishing yourself over this. It happened, you fixed it, on instinct at that. Not many people can say that in earnest.” Voxer didn't reply and just closed his eyes again. After a moment of silence Ochi sighed and went to put his hat back on before walking over to the desk. “So, what do you want for dinner tonight then?” He asked, swiftly changing the tone of his voice to a more upbeat and cheerier one.

Voxer's eyes slid over to him. “Huh? Oh, just- get whatever. I'll eat anything.” He answered.

“Yes I know that, but I want to know what you want.” He shot back with too bright a smile.

“Dude I really don't care.”

Ochi's eyes narrowed, a contrast to his unwavering smile. “If you don't tell me what you want, I am going to order the most expensive food this town has to offer. And I am going to make you eat it.” And that was a very real threat, Voxer knew that.

“Alright alright-” He begrudgingly pushed himself up from his bed and walked over to where Ochi was, leaning on the desk as he did so. “What kind of places does this town have? I haven't really been paying attention.” After abit of a debate and half an argument later, Ochi managed to convince Voxer to come out and get something to eat and maybe drink. Their arrival to this place hadn't exactly been ideal, but that shouldn't stop them from at least trying to enjoy themselves abit on their last night here. After all, at the end of the day, they were both safe and unharmed, that's what mattered most.